Singapore and France Strengthen Defence Relations Through 16th Defence Policy Dialogue

France's Director-General for International Relations and Strategy Philippe Errera, who is visiting Singapore from 1 to 2 November 2016, co-chaired the 16th Singapore-France Defence Policy Dialogue (DPD) with Permanent Secretary (Defence) Mr Chan Yeng Kit at the Ministry of Defence today. The DPD is a long-standing forum for both countries to regularly exchange views on pertinent geopolitical issues of mutual interest and discuss ways to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.

During the meeting, Mr Errera and Mr Chan reaffirmed the commitment of both countries to collaborate in various areas, including cyber security, counter-terrorism, defence technology and military tactics.

As part of his visit, Mr Errera also called on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, and received a brief by the SAF's Commander C4 (Command, Control, Communications and Computers) Operations Group, Colonel Edmund Tan on the SAF's cyber defence training capability.

Mr Errera's visit is testament to the strong and broad-based defence relationship between Singapore and France. In addition to the DPD, both sides interact regularly through joint military exercises, high-level meetings, cross-attendance of courses and defence technology cooperation. The Republic of Singapore Air Force has also conducted flying training in France since 1998, and both air forces frequently interact through various professional exchanges. These wide-ranging interactions have strengthened the excellent ties and friendship between Singapore and France.